Cameron, Masterful Mercenary
Another exciting chapter of Guardians Arise is here! Who is the new guardian? What plot twists do I have planned for you guys now? When is Chainy the Chainsaw going to make an appearance? Why does Golfer smell so bad!?!?!
All, or most, shall be answered… right after the stupid disclaimer.
Disclaimer: I don't own the blah, blah, blah, and if I did I would yadda, yadda, yadda.
Warning: A few spoilers for Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn and Sacred Stones are in this chapter. If you have never played a Fire Emblem game before, go get one 'cause the series is so effin' awesome! For those who do not understand the Fire Emblem terms, consult the Author's note at the end of the chapter.
His footsteps echoed in the dimly lit hallways as he continued his patrol, his great red eyes unblinkingly scanning the area around him. A gargling sound escaped his throat every now and then, a sound that was filled with a slight resentment for his tedious task. As a patrol Primid he was charged with the protection of the hallways, along with a great many others. He felt useless with this task, knowing that he was capable of so much more.
A faint beeping interrupted his thoughts. Cocking his plasma gun, the Primid inched towards the noise of the beeping, its breath coming out in short pants. The beeping grew louder as he approached, its source indicated by a strange blinking red light. He leaned in close to this strange device, shaped like a sphere with a blinking red light at the very top of it. Before his very eyes the light blinked faster and faster, the beeping increasing in tempo as well. He realized much too late what he was staring at.
BOOOOM!!! The primed slammed against the wall, his entire body writhing. Every Shadow Bug that made up this creature of Subspace buckled under the intense heat that came from the little device. Every single bug was on fire as the Primid gargled in agony, watching in horror as its body burst into flames.
Golfer stepped out of the shadows, a smirk etched all over his face. "How'd you like that?"
"Not bad," Samus said, "But we could've found a more… cleaner way to get around him…"
The boy rolled his eyes. "True, but where's the fun in that?"
Samus said nothing, merely rolling her eyes in her guardian's mind at his rather scattered logic. Her sharp eyes scanned the hallway once before she instructed Golfer to head right, towards their destination. For a brief moment, she felt the power surge to even greater heights, but the surge soon died down. Though she wondered a bit about this, she pushed those thoughts aside and concentrated on sensing for the source of raw power that was somewhere within the building.
**
"HEY BOB!!! I HOPE YOU'RE WATCHIN'!!! 'CAUSE THIS CHU IS SHOWING YOU WHAT A CHU CAN DO!!!"
Pikachu couldn't help but smile as his guardian continued to plough her way through the Primids, swinging her new weapon to and fro like a club. When the Primids tried forming a wall to block her, a mere blast of Bazookie, as she had dubbed her weapon, was enough to send them scattering. Shadow Bugs flew everywhere as Pikana continued to hack her way through. Primid after Primid came to tackle her, only to be thrown back by the sheer force of the heavy weapon.
But though she seemed as energetic as ever, Pikachu could not help but feel a sudden surge of concern for his guardian as he noticed how her blows became heavier, her swing more wild and frantic. Her chest heaved in and out as she continued running, her strong legs shaking slightly with effort.
"Pikana… maybe I should take over…" he said uncertainly, watching with widened eyes at the great crowd of Primids that they still needed to pass.
"N-No…" Pikana panted, heavily swinging Bazookie at a few Primids as they rushed at her, "I-I can handle it…"
She lurched again as Bazookie reached out and took care of a few Primids. But even more were closing in, their great red eyes glowing menacingly. Despite her body's exhaustion, she still fought on. Pikachu felt the tremors in her body as she used every last ounce of her strength to send the Primids flying back. It was with a stab of fear in his heart that he soon saw Pikana surrounded by the horrid creatures of Subspace. Sweat poured from every possible part of her body as her watery knees soon collapsed, her breathing heavy and ragged.
"Pikana!" Pikachu shouted, "Pikana, please get up!"
The Primids were closing in, red eyes alight with excitement and triumph. Pikana was unaware of the situation as she swung Bazookie heavily, trying to catch a few off guard. They were close now, so close that both the Pokemon and his guardian could smell their horrid stench, the smell of Subspace itself.
"Pikana, hold on!"
"I-I'm trying…" she said weakly, her bazooka dropping to the floor, "I'm trying…"
It amazed the Pokemon how a girl once so full of energy could lose it so quickly. He was now fully aware of just how much a young human could exhaust themselves if their energy was wasted in the beginning. He would have to come up with a plan for Pikana's attacks that would be effective, yet energy conservative at the same time. That is, if they made it out…
Suddenly, one Primid chose that moment to jump, landing right on top of her. Another followed it, then another then another. It was as if the entire army of Primids were now piling up on Pikana, gurgling their triumph. The thunder mistress was slammed down to the ground, her bazooka skittering away out of her reach. The combined weight of so many bodies upon her was too much for her. Pikachu did everything he could to hold on to her consciousness, but it still slowly slipped through his little fingers.
"It can't end like this!" he cried desperately, "It can't! It just can't!"
He concentrated with every fiber of his body as he soon felt himself melting away from the great void of scattered thoughts that was Pikana's mind. He soon found himself to be stretched to his limits, great pains shooting from every part of his body. Just as suddenly, it stopped.
He felt the weight of the Primids upon him, smelled the stench of Subspace. He felt the air being pushed from his lungs as he continued to lie under the ten tons of Primids. He knew there was only one hope left for him as he saw black dots in front of his eyes. Summoning all that was left of his energy, he tapped into the great power stored in Pikana's red circular cheeks…
"CHUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!"
**
Psyche's eyes widened in amazement as she looked up into the sky. A crack of thunder could be heard as a great pillar of lightning suddenly blasted out of somewhere far away. Even though she was quite far from the source, she could still feel the heat and power of the lightning as she stood there in a daze, staring into the dangerous, yet beautiful tower of light.
Pit noticed the lightning as well and he could not help but utter the only name that came to his mind. "Pikachu…"
It was a truly amazing sight indeed, but all too soon it disappeared. Pit was still slightly dazed at the sight of the powerful pillar of lightning that he forgot to yell at his guardian for dropping the firewood she carried on the wet ground. His thoughts raced, popping up questions that he knew had to be answered right where that source of power came from.
"I'm pretty sure Pikachu doesn't have his body by now," Psyche told him, rolling her eyes.
Pit snapped back down to earth. "Hey! Who said that you're allowed to listen in on my thoughts?"
"We share the same brain," she said slowly, as if she were talking to a five year old, "I can hear what you're thinking."
"Either way, how do we know that? There's only one being in this world that can produce electricity like that and that's Pikachu!"
"Yeah, but let's not forget that Pikachu also got his body possessed way back when so… no. Not likely."
"Are you deaf?" Pit snapped, "Didn't you hear his battle cry"
Psyche raised an eyebrow. "His… battle cry?"
"When he says, 'CHUUUUU!', that's his battle cry. You said that the possessed Smashers were pretty silent as far as their voices go, except for the occasional yell, grunt, or sneeze. Unless, of course, you got your information wrong again…"
"Or maybe you should just go clean out that earwax in your ears and try listening again!" Psyche retorted, "'Cause I didn't hear a single 'CHUUUUUU!' anywhere!"
Pit's intense dislike for the girl only grew at her words. "Well then, maybe I should just find myself a new guardian and leave you here to rot in these stupid words!"
"Fine by me!"
"Fine!"
"Fine!!"
"Fine!!!"
"FINE!!!!!"
"Shut up! You'll give away our position!"
Psyche's eyes narrowed. "Oh, and it's perfectly alright for you to go shouting around my head and give me a headache like that?"
Pit let out a rather cruel sounding chuckle. "Well duh! I'm in your head, remember?"
While his guardian's scowl deepened, Pit looked up towards where the lightning had come from. Way off in the distance he was able to make out a dark, forbidding shape. Squinting a little, he was able to make out a great barbed wire fence and even a few windows. It was a strange sight, this dark shape, as it seemed to draw things closer to it. The more Pit stared at it, the more powerful its pull on him. He was tempted right at that moment to leave the body of his guardian and simply float over to that building as a cloud of golden gas.
"Do you feel it too?" Psyche asked, snapping his train of thought, "That weird pull that place has on us?"
Pit nodded, though he knew she would not see. "We should get going…"
With that, Psyche slowly approached the dark shape in the distance, her nervousness and tension rising. The temperature in the air itself seemed to drop ten degrees as she approached, sending shivers down her spine. It was time that she entered the great unknown.
**
He had dreamed it again. The death of Mia was etched vividly in his mind. Ike was never the sort of person to cry, but he had wanted to every single time he had that horrible nightmare, a reminder of his most fatal failure in life. He had failed to protect one of the most loyal members of his mercenary troupe. And for that, he had to pay the price.
"Mia," he sighed, "Mia, I'm sorry… I failed you…"
He soon found himself quickly approaching a lone cave off in the distance. It was with a sudden stab of pain in his heart that he recognize the etching of a single symbol above the mouth of the cave. It was the symbol of a sword encased in a great circle, the symbol of the world of Fire Emblem. And even then he knew that the cave would branch off into a great many other worlds in the Fire Emblem world from the vast continent of Magvel to the small country known as Tellius. And it was down the Path of Tellius Ike flew.
A great flash of light met the former mercenary as he entered his home world, cruelly reminding him that he lacked hands with which to shield himself. It was here that the wind picked up and bore him across great mountain ranges, over great lakes and rolling hills. But the scenery was burned and desolate, as if the people of Tellius had abandoned their duties as farmers.
The land itself was blackened with soot, as if recently burned to ash. Though he flew over the great continents of Goldoa and Gallia, he did not see a single laguz. Even worse was the great lack of beorc that ruled the countries of Daein, Benigon, and Crimea. No longer were there Pegasus Knights and Dragon Riders ruling the skies, no more Swordmasters and Halbierders littered the ground. Tellius had become a vast ghost town, a wasteland.
As he parted a few clouds he saw a great shape in the distance that made his heart leap. It was his old home, the fort of the Greil Mercenaries. Though unclean and rather sad looking, he could very clearly see a golden light shining through one of the windows. Ike let out a cry of joy as he raced into the window and into his home, his mind filling with the wonderful memories he held dear.
"Titania, Oscar, Gatrie," he whispered, closing his eyes happily, "Mist, Boyd, Rolf, Shinon, Rhys, Soren…"
Then, he slowly opened his eyes, hoping to gaze upon the familiar and beloved faces of the mercenary troupe he had come to call his family. Alas, it was all in vain. Rather than seeing his beloved troupe seated round the fireplace as it usually did on cold winter nights, he saw only one person in the room.
He sat upon a tall oaken chair, identical to the one Ike would sit in when he would await audiences with potential clients.
He sat straight backed and proud, a mop of messy brown hair atop his head. Topping his hair were a pair of goggles, a crimson red scarf wrapped securely round his neck. He wore simple leather armor, nothing more as Ike could tell even through the armor the lean muscles along his arms. His face was hidden in the deepest shadows and though Ike squinted as hard as he could, he could not make out a single detail of the young man's face.
Footsteps echoed not far away. Abruptly the young man on the throne sat up, his unseen face turned in the direction of the noise. The gilded oak doors opened with a great creek! and a single figure stepped into the room, a cape swinging slightly in the breeze. Ike gasped as the figure stepped into the light. Roy of Phrae's face was revealed, his once stunning blue eyes now a deep, horrid yellow. He held in his hands a long box, which he set before the man on the throne, along with a single piece of parchment.
With a quick swipe of his arm, the young man grabbed the paper and began to read, occasionally murmuring words out loud. Ike was able to catch words such as "Tabuu", "Find", "Kill", and "Payment". Hhis face still hidden, the boy looked up, his face still hidden in the shadows.
"Show it to me," he commanded, his voice low and gruff.
A scowl crossed Roy's face as he was forced to bend down and open up the box, revealing the contents hidden within. The air itself seemed to get sucked out of the room as the box was opened. A gasp escaped the one whose face was never seen as he then snatched at the precious item, holding it up to the light. Ike could very clearly see that this was a sword, a Rapier, in fact. He had heard many stories of great heroes and heroines who won great battles against foes ten times their size with only that small, thin sword. The most famous, in fact, was Princess Eirika of Renais from the continent of Magvel. Ike's eyes widened in surprise as an engraving was revealed in the dying fire light: "Sigmund".
"Ashunera…" the young man said in awe, "This is… this is the Sacred Twin Blade… the Rapier Sigmund…"
With a sudden sharp movement he swung the blade in an arc through the air, bringing it whistling down with great speed and strength. Even Ike, one of the greatest swordsmen of his time, was greatly impressed by the skill of this young man. All too soon Sigmund was placed back in its box as the young man began to speak again.
"Nice weight and power, but no thanks," he told Roy, "I'm afraid that going out all over the world just to hunt one human down is not right. And the order to torture her until she cries out in pain and then to give her a nice, painful death? Sorry, but that's not what mercenaries are meant for…"
Roy reacted swiftly. Drawing the Sword of Seals, he lunged for the young man, catching him off guard. With almost no time to react, he held up his arm to block the attack, but managed to get a horribly deep cut in his arm in the process. Warm crimson blood sprinkled the packed dirt floor as the great oak chair was tipped over and the mercenary staggered to his feet, clutching his bleeding arm. Roy swung again, this time aiming for his head. He sidestepped this easily, but was caught extremely unprepared for the crippling blow to his forehead with the flat of Roy's blade. His knees collapsed from underneath him, his breathing slowly to mere shallow puffs.
Ike knew there was no time to lose. He dove right into the young man's ear, bypassing all his currently scattered thoughts until he reached the very core of his mind. Ike took a deep breath and concentrated, allowing himself to melt into his new guardian's body. After a brief moment of naught but pure pain, he opened his eyes just in time to roll out of the way of Roy's powerful sword. The Sword of Seals flashed white hot in the light as it came crashing down once again, this time in a downward stab aimed at his heart.
Ike dodged just in time, doing a swift leg sweep in the process to knock the Prince of Phrae right off his feet. It gave him just enough time to grab at the box that held the very weapon that could possibly save his life.
Roy's footsteps approached him as he fiddled with the clasp on the box. He heard the whistling of the sword through the air as Roy brought it down to kill him. Using all the strength he had left, Ike wrenched Sigmund the Rapier out of its case and brought it up to meet the blade of the Sword of Seals.
Adrenaline pumped through the mercenary's veins as he pushed the red haired swordsman back against the wall. Roy was slightly dazed from the force of the impact when Sigmund came at him again. Ike felt how light the blade was, how different it had been from Ragnell. But none of this mattered to him as he pushed the lightweight sword through a gap in his opponent's ribs and out through his back.
Blood spattered the floor as Roy let out a cry of pain, sending shivers down Ike's spine. The mercenary could feel his own energy draining from him as his old friend laid on the floor, badly beaten and almost bleeding to death. Then, before his very eyes, a great light appeared, surrounding his fellow Fire Emblem swordsman. Brighter and brighter this light grew until the eyes of Ike's guardian could no longer bear it. Shielding his eyes with one arm, he looked on in terror as the body of his long time friend disappeared.
"Who are you?" the gruff voice of the body's true owner demanded in his head, "I demand to know why you're here!"
Ike breathed a sigh of relief. "My name… my name is Ike…"
"Ike?" the voice asked in disbelief, "Your name is Ike?"
Ike nodded. "Yes… I am Ike, Commander of the Greil mercenaries."
The voice in his head let out a snort. "Yeah right! The Greil mercenaries are gone, pal! They've been gone for years! There's no way you'd be the leader of them, of all people!"
"But I am Ike," he argued, "What will I need to do to prove it to you?"
For a few moments, the voice remained silent. Ike searched through his thoughts, trying to find the idea for the test he was about to receive. He hit on it at the exact same moment the voice said it out loud.
"There is a great sword in the cabinet over there, Ettard. Out of all the beorc in history, only Ike has been able to wield it. If you're truly Ike, you should be able to wield Ettard."
Ike replaced the Rapier back into its box and walked over towards a cabinet not far away. With a sweep of his arm he opened the cabinet, gazing upon the great sword that was hidden behind it. The sword had always reminded him of Ragnell, only blue in color. It was a great two handed blade, but even for the strongest swordsman it would have to be carried with the strength of ten men. Alone of all its beorc owners was Ike able to wield it and he did so now, grasping the handle of the blade and feeling its immense power course through his veins. The voice gasped in surprise as he felt the body he had inhabited since the day he was born wield the powerful sword. Many times had he tried to even touch this sword to no prevail. And yet when this outside force had taken control of his body, he was now able to lift the blade as if it were a feather.
"You really are Ike…" he said in awe, "I-I'm honoured…"
"Now tell me," Ike said, placing Ettard back on the shelf, "Where are the others?"
"I can show you," he answered, "I'll take you to them…"
Ike nodded. "Alright. I'll let you regain control of your body."
"The name's Cameron, by the way," Cameron said quickly and earnestly, "Cameron, one of the best mercenaries on all of Tellius… at least, that's what they say…"
"They?" Ike questioned.
"The people who hire me," Cameron answered, "The Senators of Benigon… they hire me to… well…"
"To rid Tellius of the Laguz?" Ike asked, a note of disgust rising in his voice, "To root out and destroy every last one of these 'sub- humans'?"
Cameron gulped. "Y-Yes sir…"
Ike scowled. "We'll deal with that later… for now, I want to see my family again…"
With that, he closed his eyes and concentrated, tears stinging his eyes as he felt his spirit melt away from the body and slowly float into the mind of his guardian.
**
"Mah… Mah, are you awake?"
The young woman stirred slightly and opened her eyes, being immediately blinded by the sun. Salty sea air came to meet her as she sat up and stretched, looking around her. Then, she gasped.
All around her was sea, sparkling blue sea. She sat upon a roughly made wooden raft, a small crate of food at her side. Far off in the distance, she saw the island she had come to take shelter in, her fear growing with every second as she drifted away from it.
"What's going on?" she asked frantically, trying to paddle back to the shore, "Yoshi, what happened? How long have I been out? Why are we on this raft?"
Yoshi sighed, his voice choked with tears. "I'm so sorry Mah… it's my fault we got kicked off the island…"
"Kicked off?" Mah asked alarmingly, "How did we get kicked off?"
Yoshi let out a low sob as he began the story. "Not long after you fainted, the people slowly came back. Apparently, they had seen you beat that snake with what they thought was witchcraft. A lot of them were really afraid of you, Mah… they were scared that that snake was your doing, that you summonsed it. You were still out cold, so I took over your body and tried to reason with them, but they wouldn't listen. It was as if they completely forgot the fact that you just saved the entire town! It wasn't long before they started attacking me and such, so I had to run. Master Hand told me a long time ago that if I used too much of your energy you could get seriously injured or possibly even die, but it didn't matter much to me now that I saw those horrible people trying to harm you. So I ran deep into the forest and built a raft. I grabbed some fruit and packed it on too… but the villagers found me as I was gathering food so I couldn't bring very much along…"
Mah looked towards the shores where she could barely make out the dim figures of the villagers on the shoreline. All of them were waving their arms, many of them holding weapons. A lump formed in her throat at the sight of the people who had once been so kind to her in her time of need screaming and yelling at her as if she were a monster. As she heard the wracked sobs of the little green dinosaur living inside her head, her heart melted.
"It's alright Yoshi," she said quietly, "It's not your fault… they probably would've driven me out someday anyway…"
Yoshi's sobs silenced at her words, settling down to tiny hiccups. "You really mean it?"
Mah smiled. "Of course… where to now?"
"The mainland. That's just about the only place we can go now…"
Mah spotted an oar sitting next to her. Picking it up, she proceeded to row her way in the direction of the mainland. She concentrated hard on her destination, only looking up once to watch as a forest green light streaked across the night sky.
**
He was sick and tired. He was done with Pit's ranting about his guardian. He did not want to hear any more groans as the days passed without the familiar crackling of lightning. Above all, he was sick of the jar in which he was entombed.
The crackle of lightning was a blessing, he was sure of it. It was an answer to his prayers. He, the forest green smoke, saw it coming and knew at that moment it was time for his freedom. He had said goodbye to the woman he loved only moments before and now he was free.
The ruins of Smashville whizzed by as he flew over them, his destination straight ahead. He did not bother looking down at the sparkling blue sea as he passed, ignoring the numerous factories that dotted the once beautiful landscape. Piercing blue eyes never wavered from the shape of the lone mountain before them, only widening in excitement as he was sent hurtling into a deep dark cave. And there he travelled in the darkness for just a bit more before he was spit out into the bright sunshine of his home. And as he whirled about, taking in the familiar sights and sounds, three voices greeted him, seeming to emerge from the heavens themselves.
"Oh, Chosen Hero!"
"We have been waiting for you!"
"Welcome home…"
*insert drum roll here* It's time for… the Fire Emblem vocabulary lesson! *insert applause here*
Beorc: The name for humans on the continent of Tellius. They can wield weapons and magic… and stuff…
Laguz: The name for the people on the continent of Tellius that have the ability to shape shift into animals. There are beast tribe laguz, consisting of the cats, lions, tigers, and wolves. There are also bird tribe laguz, consisting of the hawks and ravens. The third type of laguz are herons, laguz that do not fight, but they aid their allies in battle by the use of special songs, or galdrs. Finally, there are dragon type laguz that are either white, red, or black dragons.
Ragnell: Ike's giant sword thing! It is blessed by the goddess Yune.
Ettard: Ike's other giant sword thing! It's not blessed, but only he can wield it.
Sigmund the Rapier: One of the Sacred Twins of Renais. Only Princess Eirika can wield it.
Greil Mercenaries: A group of mercenaries led originally by Greil, Ike's father.
Goldoa: Land of the Dragons. Beorc and non dragon tribe laguz are not allowed within its borders.
Gallia: Land of the beast tribe laguz.
Benigon: A kingdom
Crimea: Another kingdom
Daein: Oh, oh, guess what? It's another kingdom!
Tellius: The continent where all the kingdoms listed above are located, including Gallia and Goldoa.
Ashunera: The goddess of dawn. That's all you need to know…
Seeya next chapter, guys! Oh, and I plan to put a new poll concerning this story up on my profile either today or tomorrow…